Background. I started the program at Lightspeed
5 years ago because as an undergraduate and graduate student I,
as well as many of my entrepreneurial classmates, took on “real”
internships during the summers in order to pay the bills (rent,
gas, beer…). We worked on our startup ideas on nights and
weekends out of necessity. When I joined Lightspeed in 2006
and realized that we had the resources to facilitate some number
of idea-stage projects, we put together the Summer Program and
opened it up to student led teams. Why did a student need
to be involved? We had to draw the line somewhere.
The program could not be just another entryway for entrepreneurs
to pitch Lightspeed. We wanted to target young,
entrepreneurial minded people and give them a viable summer
alternative to taking that traditional internship.

I know from personal experience just how hard starting a company
can be. It’s a BIG DECISION to tackle early in your
professional career. Pieces of the program have changed
over time, but the GOAL has remained constant since inception and
that is simply to give young entrepreneurs the time and resources
to fully experience what it is like to start a company.

Purpose. The Lightspeed Summer Program is NOT an
incubator, nor was it ever intended to be. We are not
looking to fund companies out of the program. Really. I
promise. We want people to experience startup life fulltime
and have the opportunity to learn if it is something they truly
want to do. Is there benefit to Lightspeed? Yes, of
course. We hope to build relationships with young, talented
entrepreneurs at this stage in their careers. We are in the
business of fostering entrepreneurship. We also have a very
long term view on what this means. The opportunity to work
with bright, energetic people who have ideas about how to change
the world is exactly why we do this job in the first place.

Why don’t you ask for equity or a right to
invest? It’s funny, people have asked me “What’s the
catch?” Or, “It sounds too good to be true, so what am I
missing?” I appreciate the genuine skepticism so I want to
be as clear as I can on this one. The reasons we don’t
require an obligation from the entrepreneurs we accept are
simple:

First, we don’t have expectations that the teams we accept will
be ready for venture capital during or after completing the
program. In fact, I’ve been surprised by the number
(12+) that have gone on to receive venture or angel funding.

Second, we look at the program as a way to engage with people at
this stage in their careers. If we do a good job and they
like working with us, they should want to come back and work
together down the road if they want to pursue
entrepreneurship. If we don’t do a good job, and they don’t
like working with us, well, shame on us(!), but the entrepreneur
shouldn’t be obligated to work with Lightspeed.

Evolution. I’ve changed the “rules” of the
program over the years to try and make it a better
experience. For example: I learned in Year 1 that teams
without engineers didn’t accomplish much in the 10 week time
frame. Without fulltime “doers” teams ended up with a lot
of ideas and power point slides but very few actual
results. So we adapted and started requiring that every
team have at least one CS or EE major as a way to push teams to
have members that could actually build stuff over the
summer. Example 2: I learned that what is most helpful to
the Fellowship winners in terms of guest speakers and
introductions is other young founders who have successfully
raised money and angel investors. So I changed our guest
speaker lineup and invited fewer attorneys, CFO’s, and recruiters
and went with a healthy dose of entrepreneurs, CEO’s and
investors. Example 3: Entrepreneurs like lots of free food,
so we added more snacks.

If I participate in the program and Lightspeed doesn’t
invest, isn’t that a bad signal? This is something I
didn’t think about when we first started the program. It’s a very
valid concern. The LAST thing I want to do is have a
program that creates friction for any entrepreneurs who want to
continue to pursue their company after the program. So we
made a change. Starting last year, we made a commitment to
every team we accept. Lightspeed will invest a
minimum of $50k in any Summer Program winner that continues on
with a company and is able to pull together a round of at least
$500k from other investors. It’s very important to
understand that the Lightspeed investment is completely at the
entrepreneur’s option. If you don’t want it, don’t take
it. But this way, if any investor ever asks, “Is Lightspeed
investing?” the answer is “Yes, if we want them to.”

Competition. People often ask or comment about
other programs (YC, Angel Pad, etc). I’m thrilled these
programs exist and are flourishing. I think the more
opportunities out there for young entrepreneurs to try the
startup life, the better. We’ve had teams in multiple
summer programs in the past and its been great.

Resources. The program gives Fellows office
space, some funding, VC mentorship (each winning team has a
Partner from Lightspeed as a mentor), introductions to founders
and angels, and a chance to work on your idea fulltime.
I’ve learned that our Fellows also benefit greatly from the
camaraderie that emerges from working with other entrepreneurs in
a close environment and that these lasting relationships mean a
great deal to people.

This program is NOT for people who want a lot of hand
holding. As an entrepreneur, I learned you need to be
scrappy. The program is designed to give you all the
resources you need but ultimately it is best suited for
entrepreneurs who just need the chance to make things happen.